Digital Parks Africa, the data centre operations business of South African data centre construction firm Master Power Technologies (MPT), says it is a deployment partner for low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite gateways, including SpaceX’s Starlink. Group chief commercial officer Wiaan Vermaak said the company now has base stations supporting satellite internet deployment in 14 African countries, in comments to NSN reported by MyBroadband on 24 September 2026. Starlink itself still has no South African licence — and no official South African price.
Key facts
- Digital Parks Africa is building base stations for low-Earth-orbit internet providers operating across Africa, including Starlink, according to MyBroadband.
- Vermaak said those base stations now support satellite internet deployment in 14 African countries. Neither he nor MyBroadband named them.
- Starlink was available in 27 African countries as of July 2026, MyBroadband reported, and is still awaiting licensing in South Africa.
- Because Starlink is unlicensed in South Africa, there is no official South African hardware or subscription price.
- Vermaak did not disclose the terms of the partnership, the capacity of the sites or when they came online, per MyBroadband’s report. SpaceX has not commented in the reporting available.
- Digital Parks Africa’s flagship site is in Samrand, Centurion, and offers carrier-neutral colocation; a Tier 4 data centre in Lagos, Nigeria, is set to open in the first quarter of 2027, Vermaak said.
Why it matters
A South African company inside a network South Africans can’t buy
Vermaak’s disclosure places a South African company in the ground segment of Starlink’s African network at the same time the service cannot legally be sold to South African consumers. MyBroadband reported that Starlink remains unlicensed in South Africa amid continued resistance to local equity ownership requirements.
Reading the two facts together is analysis rather than reporting, and it is worth flagging as such: on the reporting available, South African engineering, construction and colocation capacity is helping deliver satellite broadband to customers in other African markets while households in Gauteng or the Eastern Cape have no lawful way to order a kit or see a local price. Neither Vermaak nor MyBroadband drew that contrast.
What gateways mean for subscribers in the served markets
For users in countries where Starlink is already sold, ground stations are the part of the system that determines whether a connection holds up at peak hours. As MyBroadband described it, a gateway is the high-capacity bridge between the satellites overhead and terrestrial fibre and mobile core networks — so adding gateways closer to users is, in principle, how a LEO operator adds usable capacity and shortens the path traffic takes before it reaches the internet. Vermaak did not disclose how much capacity Digital Parks Africa’s sites carry, so no performance claim can be attached to the 14-country figure.
What it means for rival LEO operators
Vermaak framed the business as serving low-Earth-orbit operators generally, not Starlink exclusively — relevant because Starlink is no longer the only LEO constellation courting African regulators. As this publication reported on 23 September 2026, Amazon Leo has set a 2027 South African launch while Starlink stays out. MyBroadband’s report did not say whether Digital Parks Africa currently hosts gateways for any operator other than Starlink.
What a LEO gateway actually does
MyBroadband described a LEO satellite ground station as terrestrial infrastructure connecting space-based satellite networks to ground-based networks such as the internet, fibre and mobile core networks. The outlet said these stations act as high-capacity bridges between orbiting satellites and customers receiving internet access, and are also used to track satellite health, monitor orbits and update software. The gateway is therefore both the on-ramp for customer traffic and a control point for the spacecraft.
Vermaak framed the work as part of a longer shift in connectivity — copper to fibre to wireless, then 4G, 5G and satellite — describing satellite as non-terrestrial communication that is now stepping up, “specifically with Starlink now leading at the forefront”, according to MyBroadband. He did not name Starlink outright at first, referring instead to the “guys shooting rockets in the air” and the “X guys” before confirming the partnership.
That ground-segment layer is surfacing elsewhere in African rollouts too. In separate reporting by this publication on 25 September 2026, Starlink backhaul is being piloted at a rural Nigerian tower site, where the satellite link feeds a mobile base station rather than an individual home.
The 14-country claim, and what is missing from it
The headline number — base stations supporting satellite internet deployment in 14 African countries — is not directly comparable to the other figure in the same MyBroadband report, that Starlink was available in 27 African countries as of July 2026. Fourteen is a little over half of 27, but nothing in the reporting establishes that the two sets overlap.
At least four things would have to be disclosed before the figure could be read as a share of Starlink’s African ground segment. First, a country list: MyBroadband published none. Second, a split between Starlink gateways and gateways for other LEO operators, since Vermaak described the company as a deployment partner for LEO gateways including Starlink, not solely Starlink. Third, clarity on what counts as a country presence — whether each of the 14 hosts a physical site, or whether some are counted because they are reached from a facility in a neighbouring market. Fourth, dates and capacity, so the count can be tested against Starlink’s own market launches.
None of that was provided, and Starlink has not confirmed the relationship in the reporting available. Some of the 27 Starlink markets are plainly served by gateways Digital Parks Africa has nothing to do with; how many, and which, is unknown. Until the detail is published, the 14-country figure is best treated as a company statement about its own footprint — a distinction that matters, because the same number could describe a significant regional gateway operator or a small supplier at the edge of a much larger network.
The Starlink price question in South Africa
Nothing in Vermaak’s comments touches price. For South African readers the practical consequence is straightforward: because Starlink has no South African licence, there is no official local hardware or subscription price, and the operator cannot lawfully sell service, publish local tariffs or bill South African customers.
The only South African price points on record are grey-market. Htxt.Africa reported in June 2025 that a reseller unofficially distributing the equipment sold hardware for between R15,999 and R23,999, right up until it shut down the week before publication — and the outlet said explicitly that it did not know what Starlink intended to charge locally for hardware or subscriptions. Those figures are now more than a year old, were never set by Starlink, and are not a reliable guide to what an official launch would cost. In the markets where Starlink does sell, pricing is set country by country; MyBroadband’s report on Digital Parks Africa did not disclose pricing in any of the 14 countries the company says it serves.
The company behind the gateways
MPT was among the first companies in South Africa to build data centres and began life as a backup and uninterruptible power supplier, MyBroadband reported — the same disciplines a gateway site needs, alongside cooling, physical security and carrier-neutral fibre. MyBroadband reported that Digital Parks Africa is set to expand with three more facilities soon, with plans covering Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria, plus expansion outside South Africa including Nigeria, where the Lagos Tier 4 site is due in the first quarter of 2027. Vermaak also said the company is establishing AI-ready edge data centres at sites that require them, each South African-made.
There is a wider pool of landing sites for such gateways. Writing in Business Day, Jonathan Ripley-Evans and Charlie Morgan said Africa’s data centre count grew 9% to 243 between July 2025 and January 2026, with South Africa reaching 60 — the largest concentration on the continent — while warning that power, grid capacity, lengthy approvals and regulatory uncertainty threaten that lead.
Background: the South African licensing standoff
The licensing dispute predates the current impasse. Htxt.Africa reported in June 2025 that Starlink emailed South Africans who had expressed interest in the service, asking them to comment in support of a policy proposed by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, complete with a single-click prefilled email to the department. That policy, the outlet said, was an equity equivalence proposal offering foreign entrants an alternative to a broad-based Black economic empowerment guideline requiring at least 30 percent Black ownership.
Htxt.Africa argued satellite internet was neither banned nor new in South Africa, noting that Vox offers satellite connectivity to businesses and that Vodacom was working with Amazon to use satellites as a backbone where fibre cannot reach. It also questioned the strength of Starlink’s R500 million commitment to provide free internet to 5,000 schools and 2.4 million children.
Elsewhere on the continent, uptake is being counted rather than argued over: this publication reported on 24 September 2026 that Starlink Kenya’s reported 27,616 subscribers now translate into measurable market share — the kind of demand gateways like Digital Parks Africa’s are built to carry, though the company has not said whether Kenya is one of its 14 markets.
What is still unknown
MyBroadband did not name the 14 countries, did not say how many host Starlink gateways specifically, and did not report the capacity or age of the sites. Vermaak did not disclose the terms of the Starlink partnership, and SpaceX has not commented in the reporting available. There is also no official Starlink price for South Africa, and there will not be one until a licence is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Starlink ground station actually do?
MyBroadband described a low-Earth-orbit satellite ground station as terrestrial infrastructure that connects space-based satellite networks to ground-based networks such as the internet, fibre and mobile core networks. According to the outlet, these stations act as high-capacity bridges between orbiting LEO satellites and the customers receiving internet access, and are also used to track satellite health, monitor orbits and push software updates. Digital Parks Africa group chief commercial officer Wiaan Vermaak said his company builds and hosts that kind of infrastructure for LEO operators, including SpaceX’s Starlink.
Can you buy Starlink in South Africa, and what does it cost?
No. MyBroadband reported on 24 September 2026 that Starlink is still awaiting licensing in South Africa, so there is no official South African hardware or subscription price. The only South African figures on record are grey-market ones: Htxt.Africa reported in June 2025 that a reseller unofficially distributing the equipment sold hardware for between R15,999 and R23,999, right up until it shut down the week before that article was published. Htxt.Africa said at the time that it did not know what Starlink intended to charge locally for either hardware or subscriptions, and no official local pricing has been published since, because no licence has been granted. Neither MyBroadband’s report on Digital Parks Africa nor Vermaak disclosed pricing in any of the 14 countries where the company says its base stations operate.
Which 14 African countries host Digital Parks Africa’s base stations?
Vermaak did not say, and MyBroadband did not name them. Several linked questions are also unanswered in the reporting: how many of the 14 host Starlink gateways specifically rather than gateways for other LEO operators; whether all 14 sit inside the 27-country Starlink availability footprint MyBroadband cited for July 2026; whether each of the 14 hosts its own site or some are counted because they are served from a neighbouring market; and when the sites were built. Vermaak also did not disclose the commercial terms of the Starlink partnership, and SpaceX has not commented in the reporting available.
What is the "equity equivalence" policy Starlink has backed in South Africa?
According to Htxt.Africa, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies proposed a policy giving foreign entities a pathway into the South African telecoms market without meeting a broad-based Black economic empowerment guideline requiring at least 30 percent Black ownership. Under equity equivalence, a foreign operator would instead provide some other form of economic value to previously disadvantaged people. Htxt.Africa stressed it was only a proposal at the time, not yet a proposed amendment to the legislation governing the sector.
How much has Starlink offered to invest in South Africa?
The email Starlink sent to interested South Africans highlighted a committed R500 million investment to provide free internet to 5,000 schools and 2.4 million children, according to Htxt.Africa. The outlet argued that figure was weak as an investment promise and that Starlink did not elaborate on what the investment would include beyond free internet. Htxt.Africa set it against the state’s own SA Connect programme, which deputy director Laticia Masia said aims to connect 18,520 schools, 5,731 healthcare facilities, 949 libraries and Thusong centres, 567 SAPS sites and 8,241 tribal authorities.
How much data centre capacity does Africa have for landing satellite gateways?
Writing in Business Day on 22 September 2026, Jonathan Ripley-Evans and Charlie Morgan said the number of data centres on the continent grew 9% to 243 in the six months between July 2025 and January 2026, with South Africa adding four facilities to reach 60 — the largest concentration in Africa. They cited McKinsey’s expectation that African demand for data centre capacity will rise four- to sixfold by 2030, to 1.5GW-2.2GW, requiring investment of £7.5bn-£15bn. The authors warned South Africa’s head start is not guaranteed, listing power and grid capacity, lengthy approvals, imported equipment, rising construction costs and regulatory uncertainty as constraints, and named Kenya and Nigeria as markets attracting significant investment.
Follow Starlink News on Google. Make us a preferred source to see more of our reporting in Google search results.
